- Timeline of trends in Australian music
The trends of Australian music have often mirrored those of the United States and Britain.
Australian Aboriginal music during theprehistory of Australia is not well documented; this timeline will concentrate on the time since radio began broadcasting in Australia (1923).1950s
In 1955, the
New South Wales government extendedpub closing time from 6pm to 10pm (seeSix o'clock swill ).Television was introduced to Australia in 1956.
Rock and roll became popular, as in America. First 'rock and roll' dances were held atPreston Town Hall, Melbourne. "Rock Around the Clock " sold over 150,000 units as a 45rpm EP. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)In March 1958,
Johnny O'Keefe 's "The Wild One" was the #1 single - he was the first Australian rock star to have such a hit. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Channel 9 began broadcasting an Australian version of America's "Bandstand " programme, withBrian Henderson as host, which lasted for 14 years.In 1959, Johnny O'Keefe took over the recently launched
Six O'Clock Rock (ABC), which ran until 1962.1960s
Still strongly reflecting American culture, in 1962 Australia experienced the Twist fad, soon followed by
the Stomp fad (reflectingsurf culture ). In 1964, one of the biggest bands of this genre,the Beach Boys toured Australia. During this time Australia also had its experience ofBeatlemania with a Beatles tour. The mid 1960s saw the 'mod' fad come and go.A cover of The Coasters' "Poison Ivy" (also covered by
the Rolling Stones ) gaveBilly Thorpe & the Aztecs their first #1 hit, keeping eventhe Beatles at bay. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)1964 also saw
Jimmy Little have a hit with "Royal Telephone" - he was the first indigenous Australian to do so. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)In 1966, Australia's prestigious annual rock band competition,
Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds began, and this ran until 1972.By 1966,
the Loved Ones andthe Easybeats had both seen success.Johnny Young was host ofYoung Talent Time andthe Seekers became the first Australian band to sell over a million records internationally. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Pop paperGo-Set was also launched this year, hosting their own televised pop awards (the Pop Poll). [the cheese smells. ] yeahpooft your a skank .1970s
The popularity of surf culture continued into the 70s. From 1972 to 1975 the
Sunbury Music Festival (considered to be Australia's answer to America'sWoodstock ) was held in Victoria, dominated by the likes ofBilly Thorpe & the Aztecs , Daddy Cool and theSkyhooks .In 1972, "It's Time" was recorded by
Alison McCallum , and was famously (and successfully) used by the ALP inGough Whitlam 's bid for government. He introduced many reforms, including legislating for the establishment of community-based FM radio and increased funding for the arts. Due to his government's reforms, 2JJ (now the influentialTriple J ) was established.1972 also saw
Michael Gudinski formMushroom Records . In 1975,Skyhooks , who were signed to Mushroom, released "Living in the '70s ". Six tracks from the album were banned, and the controversy combined with the singles "Living in the 70s" and "Horror Movie" ensured the album sold well. The debut song played by 2JJ was one of the banned Skyhooks tunes, "You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good In Bed".At the end of 1974, the ABC began broadcasting "Countdown" with
Ian Meldrum as host, a show which became hugely popular and influential. Songs played on the show often experienced a wild upswing in sales.The mid to late 70s saw the emergence of
disco ,glam rock and New Wave, as reflected in the popularity of Sherbet,Split Enz andSkyhooks . It existed alongside hard rock acts such asAC/DC .In 1977,
the Bee Gees 's soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever " was a huge success worldwide, and in Australia broke all previous sales records. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)Australian music was starting to gather momentum overseas, with the
Skyhooks touring the United States, and AC/DC and Sherbet attracting attention in Britain. In the late 70s, as thepunk rock phenomenon began overseas,Radio Birdman andthe Saints began to be seen as scene leaders.Little River Band gained success in the United States in 1977, with their album "Diamantina Cocktail " being the first Australian-made American gold record (500,000 sales). (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)Melbourne became a haunting ground for many influential although not huge-selling rock acts during this time, including
Nick Cave 's the Birthday Party,the Go-Betweens andthe Triffids .1980s
The late 70s and early 80s saw the dominance of the hugely popular pub rock, typified by
Mental As Anything ,Midnight Oil , The Angels,Cold Chisel and Icehouse.In 1981,
Men at Work 's "Down Under" was hugely popular both domestically and in the U.S., with the single staying at #1 on theBillboard charts for 15 weeks.INXS also experienced big success with "What You Need" reaching the U.S. top 5, and the band selling over 1.3 million copies of their "Listen Like Thieves " album. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)In 1984, Midnight Oil's charismatic lead singer
Peter Garrett ran for parliament with the Nuclear Disarmament Party. In the end Garrett narrowly missed out on winning a senate seat. In the mid 1980s, politics and music were increasingly entwined - the 1985Live Aid concert was huge. Midnight Oil's "Diesel and Dust " album, featuring the "Beds Are Burning" single, broke the band in the US.The mid 80s also saw the arrival of
dance music and thesynthesiser , for example the Rockmelons andPseudo Echo . In 1987,Kylie Minogue hit the pop charts with a bang, "Locomotion" becoming the biggest selling Australian single of the decade and #2 in the UK, #3 in the US. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)There was a sudden burst of interest in female singer/songwriters in the late 80s, with
Kate Ceberano ,Wendy Matthews andJenny Morris (actually a New Zealander) being popular. With Split Enz now defunct,Neil Finn started another project - the Mullanes, later to be renamedCrowded House . In 1987 "Don't Dream It's Over" peaked at #2 in the US.Alternative music was well represented during the 1980s, with the formation of such bands as bands such as theHoodoo Gurus , The Cruel Sea andTISM .1990s
The 1990s saw the continued expansion and then popularity of alternative music. It also saw a renaissance in
music festival s, with some dozen or more being established and holding their own. Several expanded to cover multiple cities (Homebake ,Big Day Out ,Livid ). The trend was kicked off by the establishment of theBig Day Out in 1992 in Sydney.Grunge had become huge in Australia after the death of Nirvana'sKurt Cobain in 1994, andSilverchair were the chief beneficiaries, with huge success both locally and within the US (1996).Alternative going mainstream was confirmed in 1994, when the
Cruel Sea dominated theARIA Music Awards with their album "The Honeymoon Is Over ".Nick Cave experienced wider commercial success, andYou Am I had three successive albums debut at #1. Other stalwarts of the 90s have beenRegurgitator ,Magic Dirt andSpiderbait .The
baby boomer 's rock scene, by the 90s, translated intoadult contemporary , withWendy Matthews ,Daryl Braithwaite andthe Screaming Jets finding success.In the late 90s, pop broke out all over.
Savage Garden hit the US#1 with their single "Truly, Madly, Deeply " and their debut album sold over 8 million copies. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)Tina Arena andNatalie Imbruglia also had big chart success.Triple J 's influence in possible success for a band was clearer than ever, with the station breakingGrinspoon ,Missy Higgins and largely responsible for promotingthe Whitlams , who after winning Triple J'sHottest 100 poll in 1997 with their "No Aphrodisiac ", went on to win Song of the Year at the 1998ARIA music awards .2000s
Following a rise in success in the late 1990s, the early "naughties" saw
Powderfinger break though and become the country's biggest rock band. Not long after,reality television gained commercial success, withChannel 7 'sPopstars and in 2003, with Channel 10's ongoingAustralian Idol .Delta Goodrem followed in the footsteps ofTina Arena in the 90s with huge success, and a crack at the American market.Missy Higgins andBen Lee also broke through, sweeping the2005 ARIA music awards , previously having relied almost solely on the support ofTriple J whoseHottest 100 music poll became the largest in the world with in excess of 500,000 votes placed.Other pop artists such as
The Veronicas &Rogue Traders also made waves on the charts during the later half of the decade.The soapstar-turned-singer trend continued into the "naughties" with people such as
Tammin ,Stephanie McIntosh andHolly Valance all releasing album with some degree of success.Australian hip-hop began to break through, with theHilltop Hoods becoming the first Australian hip-hop album to reach the top of the ARIA charts.Following the success of
garage rock artists such as theThe Strokes andThe White Stripes , Australia experienced somewhat of a rock renaissance with groups such asThe Vines , Jet andWolfmother charting internationally.ources
*Harvard reference | Surname1=Creswell | Given1=Toby | Surname2=Fabinyi | Given2=Martin | Title=The Real Thing: Adventures in Australian Rock & Roll | Publisher=Random House | Place=Sydney | Year=1999 .
References
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